El Muerto
El Muerto is a live-action independent film adaptation of the comic book series, El Muerto: The Aztec Zombie created by Javier Hernandez. The film was written and directed by Brian Cox with Javier Hernandez serving as Associate-Producer. It stars Wilmer Valderrama, Angie Cepeda, Joel David Moore, Billy Drago, Tony Plana, Michael Parks, María Conchita Alonso and Tony Amendola. The film follows the story of Diego de la Muerte, a 21-year-old Mexican-American who is abducted, sacrificed, and sent back to the land of the living by the Aztec gods of death and destiny to fulfill an ancient prophecy. The official premiere was held on March 1, 2007 at the Latino Film Festival in San Diego, California with a straight-to-DVD release slated for September 18, 2007 followed by subsequent screenings in New York City and San Diego. The official site address (www.elmuertomovie.com) has since been re-directed to a MySpace film account. The film is rated PG-13 for violence and some disturbing images. El Muerto has gone on to win the Best Feature Film Award at the first annual Whittier Film Festival in 2008. Plot Centuries ago, the Aztec Empire of Mexico was conquered by the Spanish conquistadors. Horrified by their religious practices, the Spaniards set out to convert the native population to Catholicism, effectively declaring war upon the Aztec religion. According to an ancient prophecy, the Aztecs and their religion will return to dominance in a time known as the Sixth Sun. While attempting to illegally cross the United States-Mexico border, young orphan boy Juan Diego is singled out by a fellow traveler, a strange old man known only as "Old Indian" claiming to know the way. The old man leads the boy to an old Aztec shrine dedicated to the god of death, Mictlantecuhtli. Explaining that they must give thanks to Tezcatlipoca, the god of sacrifice, Old Indian proceeds to carve a symbol of the god in to Diego's hand. Declaring the boy's blood to be pure, the Old Indian dies in the throes of invocations of Nahuatl, abandoning the boy in the desert. Ten years later, 21-year-old Diego has made a home for himself in East Los Angeles. He shares an apartment with his best friend Zak and is in love with Maria, niece of Padre Somera of the local mission which dates back to the Cortés era. However, Diego and Maria's relationship is strained both by his haunting encounter with Old Indian and the devout Padre's disapproval of the young man's sympathy towards Aztec beliefs and mythology. Anticipating a local Dia de los Muertos festival, Diego begins to feel the call of something powerful. He dresses as an undead Mariachi, clad in black with the traditional markings to give himself a skeletal appearance. En route to the celebration, the forces of the Aztec underworld cause Diego's car to crash, ending his life. Diego awakens in the Aztec afterlife of Mictlan where the god of death sacrifices him to Tezcatlipoca in a ritual where his heart is torn from his chest with the aid of an obsidian blade. He is then sent back to the land of the living exactly one year after his death. Diego, selected long ago by the Old Indian, is the sacrificial priest in service to Tezcatlipoca. In order to fulfill the prophecy of the Sixth Sun, Tezcatlipoca requires three human sacrifices, each symbolizing the Catholic Church that wiped out the old gods over five hundred years ago. And Maria, being the direct descendant of the Somera family is at risk. Armed with the power to take life or restore it, Diego must struggle against the very gods who created him in order to save the woman he loves. Category:Day of the Dead Category:Movies Category:Horror Movies